The New Game Plus mode, or the “alternate universe” as Starfield likes to call it, works a little differently compared to most other games out there.
You might think that an alternate universe is going to be at least different to look at but in reality, it is just another playthrough in the same universe with minor changes sprinkled here and there.
Should you go through it one more time? Is it worth the effort? What are the differences you might get to look at? All of these and many other questions will be answered in our comprehensive guide where we try to explain everything there is to know about New Game+ in Starfield.
How to unlock NG+ in Starfield
Contrary to popular beliefs that there are multiple endings in Starfield; technically, there is only one. At the end of the last mission, One Giant Leap, you must choose whether to walk into the Unity or walk away.
If you choose to walk away from it, you will go back to the old universe where you just came from. However, if you choose to walk into the Unity, you will be transported into an alternate universe or as we like to call it New Game Plus in Starfield.
You will become a Starborn whose entire reason for existence is to collect artifacts and go through Unity until the end of time.
To put it simply, ending Starfield’s storyline once will trigger the NG+ and you will start a new life in a new universe (really it is the same as the old one) and you will be able to explore everything once again.
Another fact about the NG+ is that you can keep going through it over and over again as many times as you want.
There have been reports that people find tiny new details that are different for every playthrough but that all depends upon the RNG mechanic of the game.
What carries over in Starfield New Game Plus
As you pass through the Unity and you become the Starborn, you will be stripped down to nothing when it comes to your inventory. All of your weapons, ships, or any other mods for that matter will be gone.
Your credits will drop down to zero so you have to earn credits fast. If you had visited and scanned any planet, that will also be gone and you will have to do it all over again.
Now let’s talk about what will be left that will be carried over to the new game Plus.
Traits
Any and all traits that you have acquired through rigorous testing to find the best traits, are going to stay with you.
Your traits will not be lost although you can always remove a trait and swap it for another one of your choice at any point in the storyline.
Skills
Skills are something that takes a lot of grinding to unlock in Starfield. Climbing the Skill Tree is harsh the first time around and you don’t want to go through all of the effort once again.
Thankfully, all of your skills will remain intact. You won’t have to once again go through trial and error to find the best early skills.
Powers
As you play through the games, you will unlock unique powers which are actually special abilities.
If you are not familiar with it, you unlock a couple of these during the Power From Beyond mission. You visit multiple temples and solve a rather easy puzzle that grants you a special power in Starfield.
While you retain all of your powers, playing New Game Plus in Starfield will allow you to unlock a new variant of the same power. For example, if you have unlocked Anti-Gravity already, this time around, you will unlock Anti-Gravity II.
New Game+ differences explained
Majorly, there is not a massive difference when it comes to the original playthrough and New Game+ in Starfield.
All of the artifacts are still in the same spots where you previously found them. The locations of the NPCs, and the missions, are all more or less the same. Then what is different you might ask. Here are the key differences in NG+.
Skip the main storyline
This is one of the biggest differences that you will find in New Game+. In the first mission, One Small Step, as soon as you walk into The Lodge, where the Constellation’s Questline takes place, you will meet Sarah. She will say the same dialogue to you but this time you will have a new response.
You can either ask her to let you join the faction or you can tell her that you are a Starborn. What the latter option essentially does is that it will let you skip through the whole main storyline. You will only be tasked with collecting the Artifacts and you can call it a day.
This way you can go through NG+ multiple times without having to spend hours on each playthrough, which let’s face it is going to be the same for the most part.
However, if you want to play the game from start to end once more, you can do it by picking the first option.
Among the Stars (NG+ exclusive mission)
This is a new mission that will be unlocked only in the NG+. If you choose to skip the main storyline, you will be assigned this mission – Among the Stars. This is basically a fast-tracked way of collecting all of the artifacts.
You will directly be given the location of all the Artifacts and you can go straight to the spot, collect them be done with the game.
Starborn dialogue option
If you choose to play the storyline once again, you will see this off and on in different instances. Now you will find a new dialogue option by the name of Starborn.
You might think this is something new but in our opinion, this is just to help you move past the missions faster and more efficiently.
Previously, you had to either use Persuasion skills to get your way or you had to pay a bribe. Now with this new Starborn dialogue, you don’t have to do either of these things. Here is a list of all the missions where you will get this dialogue option.
| Mission | Dialogue Option |
|---|---|
| One Small Step | You don’t have to research the Pilgrims and reach the end where you will find Hunter and Emissary. |
| The Old Neighbourhood | Convince Jack to give you information about Vanguard Moara. |
| Back to Vectera | Tell Mastura that he can catch Barrett again but let him go this time. |
| The Empty Nest | Convince Sam Coe, Jacob Coe, and Shaw. |
| All That Money Can Buy | Get rid of Emissary and Hunter without running away. |
| Starborn | You don’t have to research the Pilgrims and reach the end where you will find Hunter and Emissary. |
| Further Into the Unknown | Refuse to help Vladimir with the repair of the ship. |
| Unity | You don’t have to research on the Pilgrims and reach the end where you will find Hunter and Emissary. |
| Final Glimpse | You can explain to the members of Constellation what a Starborn is. |
| One Giant Leap | You can tell yourself that you know what Unity is and just let you walk through it. |
Starfield NG+ Rewards
Every time you complete the New Game Plus in Starfield, you unlock some variety of the following items:
- Starborn Ship
- Starborn Spacesuit
